Miami-Dade Poor Denied Dialysis to Save Money

[Mermaid7]

Source: St. Petersburg Times

Miami-Dade poor denied dialysis to save money - St. Petersburg TimesJan 7, 2010 ... A government program is facing a $168 million shortfall. Miami-Dade's financially strapped government health system has stopped paying for ...

www.tampabay.com/.../miami-dade-poor...dialysis-to.../1063870

Miami-Dade poor denied dialysis to save money
In Print: Friday, January 8, 2010


Miami-Dade's financially strapped government health system has stopped paying for dialysis treatments for 175 poor patients with failing kidneys — a decision that experts say could be deadly.

"It is no game," says Emelina Garcia Cordoví, 67, whose treatments at a South Miami-Dade center were cut off Dec. 31. "We are talking of the lives of persons who depend exclusively on their dialysis."

The Jackson Health System, intended to be a safety net for the poor and uninsured, said it expects to save $4.2 million by stopping payments for outpatient dialysis treatment for the 175 patients. Of those, other avenues for care have been found for all but 41, says spokesman Robert Alonso. About a third of those are undocumented immigrants, who are not eligible for government programs.

"This decision was not taken lightly," said Eneida Roldan, chief executive of Jackson, which is trying to reduce a projected loss of $168 million for fiscal 2010. She said patients can still get treated in emergency rooms.

The situation is so serious that Brian Keeley, chief executive of Baptist Health South Florida, suggested Wednesday that, if Jackson cannot handle the patients, a "public-private partnership" of hospitals be formed to provide care.

"These people are going to seek treatment," Keeley said. "They're going to migrate to the nearest emergency room," after they become sick, meaning care will be more expensive.

Under the health care reform proposals now before Congress, the emphasis is on getting cheaper basic care for an additional 30 million Americans so that they don't need expensive ER visits.

Raul de Velasco, a longtime Miami-Dade nephrologist who serves on several local ethics panels, said Jackson's decision was "almost cruel."

Kidney failure results in impurities building up in the blood. Missing dialysis and waiting to get sick before going to the ER could lead to inflammation of the heart, nerve damage and other problems. "They will not die quickly or suddenly — but they will die, a slow death," he said.

De Velasco says ER treatment in such cases will also be considerably more expensive because the patients will be sicker when they enter the ER.




Read more: Miami-Dade poor denied dialysis to save money - St. Petersburg Times

[marmar]

1. So in other words, "Drop dead if you're poor"

What a sad mess this country is.

[Mika]

36. Here's a working link to the story

http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/miami-dade-poor-denied-dialysis-to-save-money/1063870


-

Funny that most of the anti Cuba finger wagging comes from Miami-Dade.

Cuba hasn't cut any medical services during any of their past or present financial crisis, in fact Cuba has continually expanded their socialized universal medical services.

[Mermaid7]

43. It's the Big Wow Factor. "Look Just How Much We Can Save"

from cutting a couple of corners.
It's whopping good amount.

The Jackson Health System, intended to be a safety net for the poor and uninsured, said it expects to save $4.2 million by stopping payments for outpatient dialysis treatment for the 175 patients

[LiberalEsto]

2. Here come the real Death Panels

Hey teabaggers, wanna see what your version of "healthcare" really looks like?

[47of74]

5. Even if they were personally affected by this teabaggers are so blinded by hate...

...that they'd still be ranting and raving about "ObamaCare."

[superconnected]

35. and lets not forget the teabaggers hate the poor, they are after all republicans.

I consider it a form of self loathing.

[Burma Jones]

7. Yeah, but they're poor people whose last names end with a vowel

so who gives a fuck, let them go back to fucking Cuba, Right?

You know, maybe instead of ruby slippers for the Pope, or Evangelical Theme Parks or a Crystal Cathedral, Churches could buy Dialysis Machines.......or maybe just tax them and use the money to do what Jesus asked Christians to do......or maybe take a week off in Iraq and use the money

[WriteDown]

13. This is a government program, not private insurance. nt .

[ronnie624]

29. But Florida *is* dominated by Republicans.

:shrug:

[No Elephants]

18. Well.....

The Teabaggers claim that government will not be able to afford to cover everyone for everything and will therefore have to set priorities at some point. And someone, or some groups, will therefore have to determine those priorities, aka "death panels." Since, in the OP, a government program is denying dialysis to save money, Teabaggers could argue that this story actually supports their position--and I bet they will argue that 5--4--3--2--.

[Mermaid7]

27. Or...

it could be said:

That people without Gov't run healthcare, (such a single-payer system), because of lack of funding, these human beings,
can either go to the ER
Or "They will not die quickly or suddenly — but they will die, a slow death," he said.

To borrow someone else's wording, ' it's a systematic failure' in our healthcare system.

[okoboji]

3. OMFG

really? OMG

[ShortnFiery]

4. ...

[atreides1]

6. "This decision was not taken lightly,"

Sure it was, money or lives! Money won!

[nightrain]

8. knr. This is the real thing... This is what will continue to happen if we don't have

a national health CARE system. I don't know if Jackson receives Medicaid money, but this is the problem with expanding Medicaid when many states are having severe financial problems. A better solution is a national program/health service so all of us get adequate and comprehensive CARE (not insurance).

Thank you VERY much for posting this travesty.

[area51]

12. +1

But this country does apparently have enough money for multiple wars of choice.

Every day, 273 people die due to lack of healthcare in the U.S.

[Mermaid7]

16. Excellent Article- Thank you

I hope you don't mind that I've taken the liberty of copying an excerpt from it as a lead in, but the whole article is worth the read, especially understanding the structure and the impact of the class system.

"New England Journal of Medicine 336, no. 11 <1997>). They concluded that almost 100,000 people died in the United States each year because of lack of needed care—three times the number of people who died of AIDs. It is important to note here that while the media express concern about AIDs, they remain almost silent on the topic of deaths due to lack of medical care. Any decent person should be outraged by this situation. How can we call the United States a civilized nation when it denies the basic human right of access to medical care in time of need? No other major capitalist country faces such a horrendous situation."

[nightrain]

20. yes. Good link! Navarro has been around for years! But I haven't heard him lately

on US healthcare. Do you know if he's still alive and writing?

[fascisthunter]

33. +

[nightrain]

9. I think the link is broken...

[okoboji]

10. try this

http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/miami-dade-poor-denied-dialysis-to-save-money/1063870

[nightrain]

17. thank you. that one works! :))

[AlphaCentauri]

11. Can't believe this happening in the richest country of all times

I knew a case were an elderly father did not want to take pancreatic cancer treatment so he would not have to give away his home, he wanted his children to keep the house.

[WriteDown]

14. This says it all...

"The Jackson Health System, intended to be a safety net for the poor and uninsured, said it expects to save $4.2 million by stopping payments for outpatient dialysis treatment for the 175 patients. Of those, other avenues for care have been found for all but 41, says spokesman Robert Alonso. About a third of those are undocumented immigrants, who are not eligible for government programs."

Why is a govt agency allowed to make this kind of decision? The TSA of healthcare.

[nightrain]

19. I missed that part about all but 41 people have gotten other avenues for care... would those

other avenues include hospice then? I mean kidney failure is life-threatening. We need more details. I went to the Jackson site and of course there isn't information about this travesty.

OP, please keep us informed. It's important to know where these folks were referred to and what their "avenue" will consist of. Referred to the street? to the beach?

[Mermaid7]

26. Nightrain, I will

I'm sure that there will be many 'Letters to the Editor' in the St.Pete Times, in the next couple of days. I'll post them.
What an atrocity!

[nightrain]

30. great. thank you!

[Vidar]

15. Thank God all our wars are fully funded.

[secondwind]

21. I CAN THINK OF MANY OTHER THINGS THEY CAN SAVE MONEY ON INSTEAD OF THIS!!

[dugaresa]

22. i am hoping that this is some sort of PR stunt to get more funding

and even then it is horrible.

this is exactly why i favor a national healthcare system

[valerief]

23. Money MUST go to WAR, Pentagon Money Laundering Machine, Rich People Untaxes, and BANKS.

The rabble should be happy they're not being sprayed with DDT anymore.

:sarcasm:

[totodeinhere]

24. Any legal resident who needs dialysis to survive can qualify for medicare.

So I think the crux of this problem is that undocumented residents who do not qualify for Medicare are being cut off from life saving dialysis. This points out the real need for immigration reform. But it's going to be a tough battle, especially when both political parties support denying undocumented residents the benefits of health care reform.

[Justitia]

38. after already being on dialysis for 3 months. Maybe these people hadn't reached that?

A kidney failure patient must be on dialysis for 3 months before they are eligible for Medicare coverage of hemodialysis.

In regards to the citizenship requirement, the article states only 1/3 of them were not citizens. What about the other 2/3?

This is a death sentence. A kidney failure patient cannot survive w/out dialysis.

My son was on dialysis for 3 yrs. There was a single episode where he missed 2 consecutive treatments and he almost drowned in his own fluids.
That meant death for him in one week.

This is very, very serious and cutting these people off dialysis means certain death.

[Warpy]

25. Renal failure is a miserable death

Being poisoned from the inside is horrible, one of the horrible processes that killed my mother. The worst part of it is the intense, full body itching that never goes away. There is no treatment for it. Benadryl doesn't touch it and steroid creams won't work since it's because the internal poisons are affecting the nerves in the skin. Imagine the worst case of poison ivy you've ever had and multiply it by 100.

My mother had turned down dialysis, said she was ready to go, and threw the team out of her room when they thought they could take advantage of her dementia and do it anyway. She wasn't that demented.

But to go through this involuntarily because some bean counter thinks your life isn't worth the effort is hideous.

Jackson's decision wasn't almost cruel. It was downright cruel. Maybe he needs to look at the suits surrounding him and cut a few of those jobs.

[nvme]

28. I live here in Miami!

It makes me proud that we are saving soooo much money! Thanks congresscritters,and jackson health :sarcasm:

[DesertFlower]

31. my friend lives in tampa. she is not

working. last may she was diagnosed with breast cancer. the department of health immediately got her on medicaid. she had a lumpectomy and radiation. she didn't have to pay a dime.

[Justitia]

39. I assume these patients do not qualify for medicaid, or they would be on it.

Additionally, kidney failure patients cannot wait any length of time to complete Medicaid enrollment requirements.

They must have treatments 3 times per week, each session lasting approx. 4 hours.

Without dialysis, death would come very quickly.

[fascisthunter]

32. there's your death Panel Teabags! Oh... you got what you deserved!

a corporate take-over instead of that scary socialized public option. Fuckin stupid ignorant assholes!

[Odin2005]

34. This is an atrocity.

:grr:

[jmm]

37. Almost cruel?

That's putting it pretty damn mildly.

[Justitia]

40. Update: Three hospitals team up in dialysis crisis

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/breaking-news/story/1416482.html

There is a 30 day reprieve, these hospitals have teamed up to provide dialysis for a month.

Note this, toward the end of the article - unbelievable!:

"He says Florida's hospitals have the ability to support the dialysis patients, citing American Hospital Association data that show the state's facilities had a revenue surplus of $2.8 billion in 2007"

[Mermaid7]

41. Hi, I just checked back in, and thank you for this update, Justitia

``It's a perfect example of what happens to the uninsured who are desperately ill.''

I'm happy to see that some hospitals rose to a solution, if only temporary, it should buy some time...before people do die.

As this article said, 'it's the perfect example of our health care crisis' and as an earlier poster said, 'this is the reality'.

I woke up this morning got my coffee and the morning newspaper, here in chilly, democratic, yes blue, Pinellas county, and read this about Miami- Dade.

After having read "The Straight Story" and "Why I've Finally Gave Up" I read this story, and had to post it.

It's the first news story I've ever posted. So a new experience for me on DU.

In doing so, it asked for OP's comments about the story.

I had none I could an initially express because I was just so stunned and overwhelmed by this story. It was the epitome of what's wrong with our health care system. The rooster who came home to roost. So I just posted it, knowing that it was important and that nothing I could comment about it, could possibly say more than the story did for it's self.

What has this country come to?

Where people whose lifes are completely dependant on machines, are arbitrarily taken off to meet a State's budget constraint? What comes first over this?

Where a father or ex-husband (straight story) has to worry about his daughter welfare when he has no job/income to support her and his wife, her mother is disabled with perhaps brain cancer?

Is this what we have come to?

Is this who we are?


When I read this kind of stuff, I just can't help but think, I don't know this country anymore.

Do you?

[booksenkatz]

42. K&R for the night crew. Beyond appalling. NT